To walk a lonely path
by Highland-Spring
Summary: Pippin is distrught by something his parent's have said and decides to run off to find his own way. Things do not seem as easy as he'd thought. He must consider what he could lose.
1. Default Chapter

Pippin edged a little further to the door and very carefully leant against the doorframe. He was meant to be in bed. He should be sleeping. Something was going on, however, and he wanted to know what it was. Everyone had been acting strange all day. There was just something about that day that hadn't seemed right-in fact it was all very odd.  
  
He bit his lip and pressed himself up closer to the door. It was open a very small fraction and he could see the glow of firelight and the shape of his father, mother and sister. Pearl was there. His other two sisters must still be in bed. He decided, for which he was partly glad, since he didn't like them much at the best of times. They were speaking in low voices, but he quite clearly heard his name mentioned more than once. Pippin frowned. He started thinking about what he'd done that day-he tried to remember whether he'd done anything that could cause them to speak in such a way about him. Normally if he'd done something wrong, they would just come straight out and tell him. Or if he'd been very good, his mother and father would always tell him just as they were tucking him into bed. He smiled a little at that thought, but then suddenly heard a creaking sound. His father was standing up!  
  
Pippin gasped slightly but then turned and headed up back along the hall. He quickly pushed himself into a corner and ducked down as far as he could. He was small enough for the shadows to cover him and he hoped he wouldn't get seen. He heard the sound of his father opening the door and then there were shuffling footsteps. That of his wife and daughter followed these, but they followed Paladin along the other hall, which confused Pippin even more because their bedrooms weren't along that way. That must mean there was more to it. Pippin raised himself up a little and waited a few moments before making his way after them. He saw that they were in the kitchen gathered around the table and Pippin did the same as before and pressed himself up against the wall.  
  
"Its no good, Eglantine, he can't keep doing this. Enough is enough. Something has to be done." Paladin said.  
  
Pippin's eyes widened. He couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. He stayed there for a few more moments and listened again, hoping with all his heart that they weren't speaking about him.  
  
"You know Pippin is a handful at the best of times, but we're coping, aren't we? Why should it all change now?" Eglantine replied.  
  
There was a long silence and Pippin could hear the sound of his own beating heart thumping so loudly against his chest and ringing in his ears. This wasn't right. Surly they weren't thinking what he feared.  
  
"I'll arrange for his bags to be packed up and ready by the morning. I'm sorry Eglantine, but my decision is final." Paladin concluded.  
  
Pippin would've most probably dropped to his knees and cried if he'd not had to get away from the door to save himself from being caught.  
  
Pippin ran along the hallway, bounded into his room and buried himself under the covers. He tried his hardest not to cry-just in case they heard him so he closed his eyes very tightly but when he opened them again, silent tears drizzled down his cheeks. Pippin clung tightly to his pillow and wept softly. He stopped when he heard their footsteps coming along the hall. He pulled the covers right over his head and stayed very still. They seemed to stop just outside his door, but no one entered. They passed on and moved off to their own rooms and then everything was silent.  
  
Pippin had waited for what seemed like an age before packing up his things and quietly sneaking out. He wasn't really sure where he was going to go and what he was going to do, but he knew he had to get away. They didn't want him anymore. Now he would save them the hassle of finding him another home. 


	2. Who do I want to be?

His first initial thought was to go to Merry, but then he remembered that Merry was in Bree and wouldn't be back for two more days, so Pippin would have to find somewhere until then. It was a very cold night and thick clouds smudged the black-blue sky. Above the veil of condensed twilight, Pippin could make out the stars, far away and very bright. He remembered that Merry had told him that stars where what Hobbits used when they felt sad. Pippin asked Merry what he had meant and Merry had taken Pippin out all the way down to the fields and they both sat there looking up to the night sky. Merry had said that every single star was a memory. It could be a memory of anything at all, but not only that; the stars were what Merry had called the Lights of Comfort. He had promised Pippin that if ever the small Hobbit felt alone or upset, all he'd have to do was look up to the sky and see all those stars and think of Merry. Then he would feel better again and feel comforted by the Lights.  
  
Pippin wiped his eyes and sniffled a little. He couldn't even see any stars anymore, which meant he couldn't feel comforted because he couldn't think of Merry. Pippin blinked a few times and made himself stop crying. He had to keep moving. He had to find somewhere to hide out until Merry came back.  
  
He then thought that he could make his why to Bagend. Maybe Frodo would let him stay there. He then decided that perhaps it wasn't such a good idea, considering Frodo would want to know every single last thing and Pippin didn't much feel like telling him everything. Pippin then decided that he would have to do something quite frightening. Pippin would have to decide whether he should stay here, in the safety of the Shire-and the place that he'd only ever known-or he could leave and travel to places unknown and, as frightening as it was, it seemed to be the most logical thing for him to do. He would leave the name of Peregrin Took behind and leave the Shire to become someone else. 


	3. A difficult decision

Nodding, as if reassuring himself, Pippin stepped off the road and then started to make his way through the woods. It would be quicker if he went this way and it would lessen the risk of being seen. As he walked, he felt his body begin to slow and his eyelids become heavy. He needed to sleep. He stopped for a moment and looked about him. There was a small verge just off the path, which proved to be of some kind of shelter. Pippin climbed up and the arched up against a tree. He pulled his backpack close to his chest and nuzzled against it. When he closed his eyes, it didn't take him very long to start dreaming. Pippin was remembering the story of Ramble Ethelbank. An old Hobbit who journeyed so far away that he never found his way back. Pippin thought maybe he could travel far away, too and maybe he would find Ramble. Then they could both travel together, because Ramble had been away for a very long time and he must've gotten quite lonely doing all that walking by himself. It was a shame Pippin didn't realise the truth in Ramble's failure to return home. Pippin strongly believed Ramble was alive and wandering far across Middle Earth to places that even Elves had not seen. Ramble had been almost Ninety-two when he'd left the Shire, which made him almost three-hundered years old now. Ramble would've died in the first winter away from the Shire. Nothing could have been done to prevent that. Pippin, however, did not know any different, and to him Old Ramble Ethelbank was still alive and still discovering new things and places.  
  
Pippin suddenly woke up. A pale line of pink-orange cloud sailed above his head as he looked up through the spindles. Small birds chirped a shrilled and flittered back and forth through the branches. Pippin gave a small yawn and sat there for a few more moments before deciding he must keep going.  
  
He pulled himself up and started off slowly walking back along the path. He decided that maybe he shouldn't follow the path. He turned left and then followed a dip in the grass. Soon, bark and leaf consumed the small figure and to any Hobbit taking an early morning stroll along the path, Pippin would've gone unnoticed.  
  
Pippin was quite pleased with himself, at first. He only ever been to the edge of the woods on his own and had never dared to go any further. But he had spent a whole night in the woods on his own and now he was venturing off away from the security of the path in order to find his own little meanderings. He thought that maybe he could hideout in the woods again for one more night and then he would make his way to Buckland and tell Merry everything. Then he would tell Merry that he was going to leave the Shire and that it would be sad but it was for the best, so at least he would've said good buy to his most favourite cousin and beloved friend. Pippin suddenly stopped and blinked a few times. He didn't want to say goodbye to Merry forever. That was just too sad and painful. Pippin would never be able to say goodbye to Merry forever. It was hard enough saying goodbye to him when he had to travel off with his father on business and that was only usually for a day or so. To say goodbye to someone who Pippin loved very much-and to say goodbye to them forever wasn't very nice. He didn't think Merry would much like it either. The Pippin found he had yet another hard thing to do. He would have to deicide whether he should see Merry for one last time, or just go without saying anything. 


	4. Hollow Emptiness

Merry had once said that there were times when words were needed and times when they weren't. Maybe this was one of those times when they weren't. Pippin was sure Merry would understand and would hopefully know it was for the best. But forever was a very long time and Pippin knew he'd want to see Merry before he went away, because Pippin planned to travel so very far- just like Ramble-that maybe he would find a new world across a Silver Shore.  
  
This time, Pippin cried a lot. He dropped to the ground and just lay there crying into the soft grass. When all the tears he could cry ran dry, he just stayed there lying in the grass. He could hear the birds singing high in the trees above him and he could hear the sound of a small stream trickling by. All the sounds made him feel sleepy again, and before he knew it, he'd fallen asleep again. 


End file.
